Effective September 30, 2024, all individuals who wish to serve as an appointed representative must register with us before we can process their appointment in a case. Effective December 9, 2024, all entities that wish to receive direct payment of fees authorized to an affiliated representative must register with us and name a point of contact (POC) before we can process an assignment of direct payment.  Any individual who intends to act as the POC for an entity also must register with us before being named as a POC on the entity’s registration. 

1. 1. 

   Affiliate: To associate with an entity through our prescribed registration process.

2. 2. 

   Assignment: The transfer of the right to receive direct payment of an authorized fee from a representative to an entity.

3. 3. 

   Entity: Any business, firm, or other association, including but not limited to partnerships, corporations, for-profit organizations, and not-for-profit organizations.

4. 4. 

   Point of Contact: A point of contact is an individual who registers as a representative in the manner we prescribe and is selected by an entity to speak and act on the entity’s behalf and who assumes the affirmative duties and obligations we prescribe. For more information on POC, see GN 03920.021.

5. 5. 

   Registration: The process by which an individual or entity provides the information we require to conduct business with us.

6. 6. 

   Registration, Appointment, and Services for Representatives (RASR): The application we use to store and manage information about representatives, entities, appointments, and direct payment data, and to send automated notices to representatives and entities.

7. 7. 

   Representative: An attorney or individual other than an attorney who meets all of our requirements and is appointed to represent claimants in dealings with us. In subchapter GN 03913, and for the purposes of our Rules of conduct and standards of responsibility for representatives, “representative” also includes an individual who provides representational services and an individual who is listed as a POC for an entity, as applicable to their identified role.

8. 8. 

   Representational Services: Services performed for a claimant in connection with any claim the claimant has before us, any asserted right the claimant may have for an initial or reconsidered determination, and any decision or action by an administrative law judge or the Appeals Council.

9. 9. 

   Representative Identification (Rep ID): The 10-character identifier we issue to representatives to use instead of their Social Security Number (SSN). The representative uses this alphanumeric identifier for establishing appointments and conducting business with us. We assign Rep IDs when representatives register with us.

10. 10. 

    User Identification (User ID): The unique number RASR generates and assigns to a representative for accessing our electronic services. We assign User IDs when representatives register with us.

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  Form SSA-1699, Representative Registration: Representatives, including POCs, must use the Form SSA-1699 to provide the information we need to register them or to update their registration information.  Appointed representatives must also use the Form SSA-1699 if they wish to affiliate with one or more entities.

  NOTE: Representatives who affiliate with multiple entities must complete and submit a Form SSA-1699 and attach a separate section V of the form for each new entity with which they wish to affiliate. Form SSA-1699 is also used to ensure proper annual issuance of Form IRS 1099-MISC or 1099-NEC. For more information on the Form SSA-1699, see GN 03913.005 and GN 03913.010.

• •

  Form SSA-1696, Claimant’s Appointment of a Representative: Beginning on December 9, claimants must use the Form SSA-1696 to appoint representatives to represent them in their dealings with us. Representatives who want direct payment of any fees we authorize for services they provide on a claim, matter, or issue, or who want to assign direct payment to an affiliated entity, must also use the Form SSA-1696 to tell us. For more information about the Form SSA-1696, see GN 03913.040.

• •

  Form SSA-1694, Entity Registration and Taxpayer Information: Entities must submit a Form SSA-1694 to register with us for tax reporting purposes and before a representative can assign direct payment of their fees to the entity.  When an entity successfully registers with us, we will send Form 1099-NEC to the entity and Form 1099-MISC on an annual basis to representatives affiliated with the entity. For more information about the Form SSA-1694 and entity registration, see GN 03913.050.

1. 1. 

   Representatives must register 

   Effective September 30, 2024, all individuals who wish to serve as an appointed representative or POC must be registered with us before we will recognize them.

   For more information about qualifications that must be met to represent a claimant before us, see GN 03910.020. For more information on the appointment of representatives, see GN 03910.040. For more information on eFolder access and access to electronic systems for appointed representatives, see GN 03913.005. For more information on direct payment of fees authorized to representatives, see GN 03920.017.

2. 2. 

   Entities must register before representatives can assign direct payment of authorized fees 

   Effective December 9, 2024, representatives can assign direct payment of authorized fees to affiliated entities.  For us to accept a representative’s assignment request, both the entity and the representative must be registered before a representative requests the assignment, and the assignment request itself must be made before the date we notify the claimant of our first favorable determination or decision.

   We cannot process a representative’s request to assign direct payment of their fee to an entity unless that entity has registered with us.  If a representative submits a Form SSA-1696 with a request to assign direct payment of their fee to an entity, and the entity has not registered with us, we may continue to process the notice of appointment, but will not process the direct payment assignment request.  In this situation, we will notify the representative that we cannot process the assignment request.

   For more information on assigning direct payment of an authorized fee to an entity, see GN 03920.021 and GN 03913.040.

3. 3. 

   Representatives may affiliate with one or more entities but may only assign direct payment of a fee to a single entity in each claim

   Representatives may affiliate with more than one entity by completing and submitting a Form SSA-1699 with a separate Section V attached for each new entity with which they wish to affiliate. Appointed representatives with claims pending before us may then designate one of these entities to be the affiliate entity for that claim by submitting a Form SSA-1696 with that entity’s Employer Identification Number (EIN) included in Section 5, part B of the form and, effective December 9, 2024,  representatives may check a box in Section 5, Part C  of the form to request to assign direct payment of any fees authorized in that claim to their designated affiliate entity.

   IMPORTANT: An entity must be registered with us before a representative can assign direct payment to it.  For more information on entity registration, see GN 03913.050.

   For more information on assigning direct payment of the fee to an entity, see GN 03920.021 and GN 03913.040.

4. 4. 

   Tax reporting for representatives and entities

   Effective in Tax Year 2020, we issue annual Forms IRS 1099-MISC (Miscellaneous Income) to representatives who receive direct payment of representative fees while being affiliated with a registered entity.  We issue Forms IRS 1099-NEC (Nonemployee Compensation) to registered entities, to representatives who work as sole proprietors, and to representatives who work for entities not registered with us. Effective Tax Year 2024, Form IRS 1099-NEC is also issued to entities who receive direct payment of assigned fees for work done on a claim by affiliated representatives.

   IMPORTANT: We do not make corrections to information on Forms IRS-1099 more than three years prior to the current tax year. For more information on corrections to Forms IRS-1099, see GN 03913.050.

   For more information on the assignment of direct payment fees, see GN 03920.021.

Effective December 9, 2024, all appointments must be submitted on the most current Form SSA-1696. We do not accept obsolete versions of Form SSA-1696. If a representative submits a previous version of Form SSA-1696, or any other writing, in lieu of a current version of the Form SSA-1696, technicians will dispose of the submitted form following the instructions in GN 03910.040. Technicians will notify representatives who submit an outdated Form SSA-1696 or another writing in place of the form that we no longer accept previous versions of the Form SSA-1696, nor do we accept any other writing in lieu of the current Form SSA-1696 and will require a new submission.

Representatives can go to www.ssa.gov/representation to obtain the current version of Form SSA-1696 or initiate an appointment in the e1696 portal.

On February 7, 2020, we archived Form SSA-1695, Identifying Information for Possible Direct Payment of Authorized Fee, and incorporated the information on the form into Section 5 of the new Form SSA-1696.  

We no longer accept or process the Form SSA-1695. If a representative submits a Form SSA-1695, technicians will:

• •

  Contact the representative.

• •

  Inform the representative that the Form SSA-1695 is obsolete.

• •

  Direct the representative to www.ssa.gov/representation for information on new requirements and current versions of our forms.

• •

  Shred the SSA-1695.